Valley Fever

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Valley Fever is a disease caused by a fungus (or mold) called Coccidioides. The fungi live in the soil of dry areas like the southwestern U.S. You get it from inhaling the spores of the fungus. The infection cannot spread from person to person.

Anyone can get Valley Fever. But it's most common among older adults, especially those 60 and older. People who have recently moved to an area where it occurs are at highest risk for infection. Other people at higher risk include:

• Workers in jobs that expose them to soil dust. These include construction workers, agricultural workers, and military forces doing field training.
• African Americans and Asians
• Women in their third trimester of pregnancy
• People with weak immune systems

Valley Fever is often mild, with no symptoms. If you have symptoms, they may include a flu-like illness, with fever, cough, headache, rash, and muscle aches. Most people get better within several weeks or months. A small number of people may develop a chronic lung or widespread infection.

Valley Fever is diagnosed by testing your blood, other body fluids, or tissues. Many people with the acute infection get better without treatment. In some cases, doctors may prescribe antifungal drugs for acute infections. Severe infections require antifungal drugs.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• Valley Fever (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• Symptoms of Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Fungal Culture Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Tests for Lung Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) Risk and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Treatment for Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Coccidioidomycosis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Epidemiological, clinical, and genomic landscape of coccidioidomycosis in northeastern Brazil.
• Article: Surveillance for Coccidioidomycosis, Histoplasmosis, and Blastomycosis During the COVID-19 Pandemic -...
• Article: Development of a rapid lateral flow assay for detection of anti-coccidioidal...
• Valley Fever -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Patient Handouts

• Coccidioides complement fixation (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Coccidioides precipitin test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• CSF coccidioides complement fixation (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Valley fever (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish